


I Disobey The Prophecy

by JustASimpleHo



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Dark Percy, Dark Percy Jackson, Self-Aware Fic, Slightly Self-Aware Fic, What-If, self-aware
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 08:14:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20597573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustASimpleHo/pseuds/JustASimpleHo
Summary: A re-write of a portion of Chapter 22 (The Prophecy Comes True) from The Lightning Thief. What if Percy agreed with Luke's ideals and decided to join him instead?





	I Disobey The Prophecy

On the last day of summer, I found a form letter on my bedside table.

I knew Dionysus must've filled it out because he stubbornly insisted on getting my name wrong:

Dear  Peter Johnson ,

If you intend to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit.

Have a nice day!

Mr. D (Dionysus)

Camp Director, Olympian Council #12

That's another thing about ADHD. Deadlines just aren't real to me until I'm staring one in the face. Summer was over, and I still hadn't answered my mother, or the camp, about whether I'd be staying.

Now I had only a few hours to decide.

The decision should have been easy. I mean, nine months of hero training or nine months of sitting in a classroom – duh.

But there was my mom to consider. For the first time, I had the chance to live with her for a whole year, without Gabe. I had a chance to be at home and knock around the city in my free time. I remembered what Annabeth had said so long ago on our quest: _The real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not_.

I thought about the fate of Thalia, daughter of Zeus. I wondered how many monsters would attack me if I left Half-Blood Hill. If I stayed in one place for a whole school year, without Chiron or my friends around to help me, would my mother and I even survive until the next summer? That was assuming the spelling tests and five-paragraph essays didn't kill me. I decided I'd go down to the arena and do some sword practice. Maybe that would clear my head.

The campgrounds were mostly deserted, shimmering in the August heat. All the campers were in their cabins packing up, or running around with brooms and mops, getting ready for final inspection. Argus was helping some of the Aphrodite kids haul their Gucci suitcases and makeup kits over the hill, where the camp's shuttle bus would be waiting to take them to the airport.

Don't think about leaving yet, I told myself. Just train.

I got to the sword-fighters arena and found that Luke had had the same idea. His gym bag was plopped at the edge of the stage. He was working solo, whaling on battle dummies with a sword I'd never seen before. It must've been a regular steel blade, because he was slashing the dummies' heads right off, stabbing through their straw-stuffed guts. His orange counselor's shirt was dripping with sweat. His expression was so intense, his life might've really been in danger. I watched, fascinated, as he disemboweled the whole row of dummies, hacking off limbs and basically reducing them to a pile of straw and armor.

They were only dummies, but I still couldn't help being awed by Luke's skill. The guy was an incredible fighter. It made me wonder, again, how he possibly could've failed at his quest.

Finally, he saw me and stopped mid-swing. “Percy.”

“Um, sorry,” I said, embarrassed. “I just–”

“It's okay,” he said, lowering his sword. “Just doing some last-minute practice.”

"Those dummies won't be bothering anybody any-more."

Luke shrugged. "We build new ones every summer."

Now that his sword wasn't swirling around, I could see something odd about it. The blade was two different types of metal – one edge bronze, the other steel. It looked pretty cool.

Luke noticed me looking at it. "Oh, this? New toy. This is Backbiter."

"Backbiter?"

Luke turned the blade in the light, so it glinted wickedly. “One side is celestial bronze. The other is tempered steel. Works on mortals and immortals both.”

“Cool. I didn't know they could make weapons like that."

"_They_ probably can't," Luke agreed. "It's one of a kind."

He gave me a tiny smile, then slid the sword into its scabbard. "Listen, I was going to come looking for you. What do you say we go down to the woods one last time, look for something to fight?"

“Sure!” I said a little too quickly – I was relieved that Luke was being so friendly. Ever since I'd gotten back from the quest, he'd been acting a little distant. I was afraid he might resent me for all the attention I'd gotten.

“Awesome,” he replied, giving me a toothy grin. He rummaged in his gym bag and pulled out a six-pack of Cokes. "Drinks are on me."

I stared at the Cokes, wondering where the heck he'd gotten them. There were no regular mortal sodas at the camp store. No way to smuggle them in unless you talked to a satyr, maybe.

Of course, the magic dinner goblets would fill with anything you want, but it just didn't taste the same as a real Coke, straight out of the can.

Sugar and caffeine. _Yes, please._

We walked down to the woods and kicked around for some kind of monster to fight, but it was too hot. All the monsters with any sense must've been taking siestas in their nice cool caves.

We found a shady spot by the creek where I'd broken Clarisse's spear during my first capture the flag game. We sat on a big rock, drank our Cokes, and watched the sunlight in the woods.

After a while, Luke said, "You miss being on a quest?"

"With monsters attacking me every three feet? Are you kidding?"

Luke raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I miss it," I admitted. "You?"

A shadow passed over his face.

I was used to hearing from the girls how good-looking Luke was, but at the moment, he looked weary, and angry, and not at all handsome. His blond hair was gray in the sunlight. The scar on his face looked deeper than usual. I could imagine him as an old man.

"I've lived at Half-Blood Hill year-round since I was fourteen," he told me. "Ever since Thalia ... well, you know. I trained, and trained, and trained. I never got to be a normal teenager, out there in the real world. Then they threw me one quest, and when I came back, it was like, 'Okay, the ride's over. Have a nice life.'"

He crumpled his Coke can and threw into the creek, which really shocked me. One of the first things you learn at Camp Half-Blood is: Don't litter. You'll hear from the nymphs and the naiads. They'll get even. You'll crawl into bed one night and find your sheets filled with centipedes and mud.

"The heck with laurel wreaths," Luke said. "I'm not going to end up like those dusty trophies in the Big House attic."

"You make it sound like you're leaving."

Luke gave me a twisted smile. "Oh, I'm leaving, all right, Percy. I brought you down here to say goodbye."

He snapped his fingers. A small fire burned a hole in the ground at my feet. Out crawled something glistening black, about the size of my hand. A scorpion.

I started to go for my pen but stopped myself. Something was tugging at the back of my brain, something… something different

"Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stinger can pierce right through your clothes. You'll be dead in sixty seconds."

I was stunned into silence.

Then it hit me.

_You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend._

"You," I said.

He stood calmly and brushed off his jeans.

The scorpion paid him no attention. It kept its beady black eyes on me, clamping its pincers as it crawled onto my shoe.

"I saw a lot out there in the world, Percy," Luke said. "Didn't you feel it-the darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? Didn't you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics–being pawns of the gods. They should've been overthrown thousands of years ago, but they've hung on, thanks to us half-bloods."

I couldn't believe this was happening… but some part of me was agreeing with him. I felt myself get swayed by his words.

“I’m new to all of this stuff. So, I can’t speak about the monsters growing stronger,” I replied in a small voice. “But Mrs. Dodds… she didn’t stay dead for long, did she? And being a pawn…” I scowled. “Ares used me, even my own _dad_ used me.”

I looked up at Luke – my little speech caught him off guard. I saw his eyes flicker for a moment, almost like he was hopeful before they turned cold and distant again.

“Exactly. Their precious 'Western civilization’ is a disease, Percy. It's killing the world. The only way to stop it is to burn it to the ground, start over with something more honest."

I nodded a little bit, unsure but not wanting to disagree.

"Kronos," I said. "That's who you serve."

The air got colder.

"You should be careful with names," Luke warned.

"Kronos got you to steal the master bolt and the helm. He spoke to you in your dreams."

Luke's eye twitched. "He spoke to you, too, Percy. You should've listened."

“I did listen. But I wasn’t sure yet. Now, though…”

“Kronos showed me that my talents are being wasted. Do you know what my quest was two years ago, Percy? My father, Hermes, wanted me to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and return it to Olympus. After all the training I'd done, that was the best he could think up."

"That's not an easy quest…" I started. Luke scowled. "but Hercules did it first. Where’s the glory in repeating what others have done?"

"Exactly," Luke said. "All the gods know how to do is replay their past. My heart wasn't in it. The dragon in the garden gave me this”–he pointed angrily at his scar–” and when I came back, all I got was pity. I wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone right then, but I bided my time. I began to dream of Kronos. He convinced me to steal something worthwhile, something no hero had ever dared to take. When we went on that winter-solstice field trip, while the other campers were asleep, I snuck into the throne room and took Zeus's master bolt right from his chair. Hades’ helm of darkness, too. You wouldn't believe how easy it was. The Olympians are so arrogant; they never dreamed someone would dare steal from them. Their security is horrible. I was halfway across New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling, and I knew they'd discovered my theft.”

"Wait… so why didn't you bring the items to Kronos?"

Luke's smile wavered. "I ... I got overconfident. Zeus sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt – Artemis, Apollo, my father, Hermes. But it was Ares who caught me. I could have beaten him, but I wasn't careful enough. He disarmed me, took the items of power, threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos's voice came to me and told me what to say. I put the idea in Ares's head about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight. Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go, and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence." Luke drew his new sword. He ran his thumb down the flat of the blade as if he were hypnotized by its beauty. "Afterward, the Lord of the Titans ... h-he punished me with nightmares. I swore not to fail again. Back at Camp Half-Blood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and the helm the rest of the way-from Ares down to Tartarus."

"_You_ summoned the hellhound, that night in the forest."

"We had to make Chiron think the camp wasn't safe for you, so he would start you on your quest. We had to confirm his fears that Hades was after you. And it worked."

"The flying shoes were cursed," I said. "They were supposed to drag me and the backpack into

Tartarus."

"And they would have if you'd been wearing them. But you gave them to the satyr, which wasn't part of the plan. Grover messes up everything he touches. He even confused the curse."

Luke looked down at the scorpion, which was slowly approaching me. "You should have died in Tartarus, Percy. But don't worry, I'll leave you with my little friend to set things right."

The scorpion inched closer.

“Kronos will rise. You've only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest–the ones who serve him."

I took a deep breath. I was about to do something extremely out of character for me. But everything Luke was saying, _especially_ after I’d been used by Ares and my dad? That struck a chord in me. Deep within me, like in the pit of my stomach.

“Wait, Luke – do prophecies always have to come true?”

That caught him off guard. “Why do you ask?” he said with a suspicious frown.

“To the Underworld with the prophecy. If you’re going to leave, I’m coming with you. I’ll join you, Luke. I’ll… I’ll serve Kronos.”

Luke was stunned. He snapped his fingers again, and the scorpion scuttled back into its hole.

“You’ll _what_?”

“The dreams, Luke – I _was _listening to him. And the stuff you were saying about the gods, about how we’re being _used_ – it’s all true. Let me join you.”

Luke grinned, his canines glinting evilly in the sunlight. “The Son of Poseidon on _our_ side? He would be most pleased…” He chuckled and reached out his hand. “Come, Percy. A new Golden Age is coming. We’ll both be a part of it.”

I took his hand. He slashed his sword in an arc, and we disappeared in a ripple of darkness.


End file.
